Sorry, but I haven't been listening to this season's podcasts. This is not because of any lack of desire to, but because the new episodes aren't being shown over here . Usually, I listen to your podcast later in the day, after watching the eps, to help meld my opinions of the shows (and to play along with the judging ), but since it's not on, I haven't listened because I dislike - quite vehemently - spoilers. Sorry again.

But I have just realised that, when it is back on again, I've got a lot of listening to catch up with ._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:23 pm

Message

Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1743Location: Ontario, Canada

Life, check out Youtube. I just caught the most recent TCW episode there. Search for things like "Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 4 Episode 1" and you should get the episode, in two parts._________________"I'm...from Earth."

*Sigh* If I must, I'll check them out on youtube . But, you know, if the others are anything like me, they may not have felt the need to comment, as I've often felt that my opinions were well expressed on the show - one of the great things of having a large cast. However, if I give in, I promise to leave a comment or two ._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Okay. So I gave in and watched a few episodes on youtube. I made notes. Be warned, though: I made these notes when I was quite tired, so I may not be able to make much sense of them.

For the first three episodes, I noted how you all were particular fans of the CGI, yet I felt the CGI wasn't particularly stand-out. Yes, the minute details were good, but I don't think the artists were sorely tested, given the setting, so I believe that because they had less to do on that front, they concentrated more on the little things. I quite liked the Separatist designs. It's always nice to see some variety in the show. Since we get quite a few changes with the clones, the droids were starting to feel a tad old.

The main thing I did like, though, was Ahsoka. She was a lot more mature and well-thought out, yet her character wasn't so subdued. It was weird to have the call-back to the Geonosis arena, and think of Anakin as Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka as Anakin, given that their characters at the time were so different from what he and she are now, but that was a good weird. She wasn't overdone (read: not screen-hogging *coughJarJarcough*).

I liked the fight scenes, though I did wonder at the feasibility of them. They seemed to be a combination of how a land battle would be fought, and how a space battle would be fought. I'm not particularly convinced it worked (having it in 3D, yet having it in a tiered design) but it was still well executed, and still nice to watch.

Too, I was wondering about physical improbabilities put forward in the show: characters swimming rapidly up and down (decompression sickness) as well as the Gungans jumping out of the ship (couldn't tell how far that jump was, but it looked to be high enough to cause severe physical injury when they hit the water).

Another good point: I quite liked the prince. Despite his Justin Timberlake voice. It was fun to think of him as the new Ahsoka, but have him grow up so much in just a few episodes. I just wish, when he

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shot Shark Man

, that he had uttered 'smile you son of a b****!'

Overall, I thought these were good episodes, with only a few duff moments (I could have one without Jar Jar spitting, and the story seemed contrived at times), but I quite liked the suffusion of light, and the lighting in general. Individually, I'd give the first 6.5 womprats, the second 7, and the last another 7, with an overall rating of 7 womprats, which I'd take out to a seafood restaurant, and order some (mon) calamari._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

I then moved on to the Naboo episode. I forget who said this, but one of the speakers used to play the TPM game on his PC. I used to play that game, too, though on the PlayStation. I, too, enjoyed roaming around the levels. Despite the player-cam angle, it was quite remarkable to see so much of Otoh Gunga (note to self, check spelling later, if you can be bothered) and to go back there was a distinct pleasure.

Again, I made my notes in the wrong order, so if they're confusing, my apologies.

I was worried, in the beginning, that it would be exactly like the last few episodes. You must admit that they did contain striking similarities, in terms of story-telling. I had wondered if, when drawing up the story for the Mon Cal episodes, this was one they'd discarded, and then changed it to fit the Gungans. But, as things progressed, things changed enough for it to be its own episode.

But, as to Boss Nass being replaced, I'm okay with that. When reading some books in the EU, I got the impression that some people, and some concepts and organisations to an extent, would remain the same for a long period of time, until the next book. I felt that wasn't particularly realistic, and doing away with that static-ness (shush. I know it's not a word) in the show appealed to me. I think of Nass now being a liaison between the Gungans and Naboo, and living in Theed. Indeed, I imagine that Gungan who yells 'wesa free!' at the end of ROTJ to be Nass's kid .

Beyond that, I felt the dialogue was markedly improved. The settings felt more tangible, more real. I can't put my finger on what made it so, but I got the impression it was more alive. Oh, and when I saw that Grievous was down, I mistook him for dead, and my first thought was, 'well, that'll mess with continuity slightly'.

Too, I liked the fight between Dooku and Anakin, though as another speaker pointed out, it lacked fluidity. But the set up was good. Dooku seemed far more energetic in this one, too.

Some other thoughts that occurred to me: Sidious was wrong. I don't actually remember him being in the episode, but I was distracted by my baby nephew at the time, so I could have missed it. This was something I got from your show. One had said that Sidious told Dooku that Padme wouldn't resist the thought of an exchange, yet he was wrong. She was the one that had to be talked into it.

Another wonder: When Dooku said he was at the battle of Naboo, all those years ago. What did he mean? In what capacity? Was he there personally, or did he mean the Sith were there, rather than he himself?

Overall, I thought it was a decent episode, though not one that was above most of the others - even if it did have several stand out moments: Tarpals dying, for one. Even Piell would have been moved by that. But I feel this was a 6 womprat episode. And I'll have my womprats wear that mystical necklace, and have them do my bidding._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

There was one or two things that I wanted to comment on, but it's about the show, so I wanted to keep them separate from my thoughts on the episodes.

First off, I experienced a problem with playing the podcasts on the main page. Even in the pop-out window, it wouldn't work. It didn't matter so much, because I had downloaded them anyway, but it was something I'd noticed after the fact (also, when you press the download button, it takes you to another page, where you can save it from. It's interesting that the play function worked there). But, it is working on the latest episode.

My other thought concerns the format of the show itself. I love the show, and I have no real problem with it. But I did notice a slight disconnect. In the beginning of each episode, you have the introductions and whatnot, and the episode details, including a synopsis. And then you'd jump into talking about the show. I wondered if you'd consider replacing the synopsis with a more in depth summary? Or have them both, since one is the episode description, and the other is what actually happened.

I don't mean much of a summary. Just a quick run through of what happened in bullet-point form. But I feel having that would be a more stable basis for the later analysis, as well as reminding the listeners what happened, and in what order, during the episode. What do you reckon?_________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

It started off well. Granted, it was a droid episode, and they have a tendency to be not the best. The beginning gave me high hopes. Which were Dash Rendared pretty quickly. The fact that we had clone action - and no Jedi in sight, as was pointed out on the podcast - yet no full action sequences, was quite novel. True, we've had mercy missions in the past of this type, but they were Jedi-led. The loading up sequence, despite being not all that important, stuck out to me as one of the best bits of the episode. What that says about the episode is up to you. But it felt like the beginning of the film Jurassic Park: The Lost World, where they're in the warehouse with all the cars, and the fancy technology on show - the scene where they had the cool backdrop to introduce the annoying spawn of the annoying man. Well, this was just as cool. It added vibrancy to the shot, as well as giving us a proper look at the new armour.

Speaking of the armour, it was - I know I'm saying this a lot, but it's true - cool to see the new, Ep III armour, as well as so many variations with the pilot and the Wolffe pack. I think I even saw some old phase I armour, though I can't be certain.

Here I must paraphrase a few fellow members here, where, in the dedicated episode threads, one stated that the clones were jerks to Artoo and Threepio, and another that the clones probably had reason to. I'm presuming he meant that the clones had reason to dislike the droids because they're fighting them all the time, but I like to think it's just because Threepio has an annoying personality. Though if you think the droids didn't deserve such behaviour, feel free to ask Wolffe that, at the end of the next episode!

Seeing the entry into the atmosphere was beautiful - and interesting to see an Acclamator ship with phase II clones in them. When they got to the planet, well, things went down hill from there.

The clones were great. Business-like, yet full of character, as usual. Even the droids were decent. The visuals were nice. Reminiscent of the Geonosian spires. It was the Aleena I wasn't a big fan of. I get that they're a happy go lucky sort of people, and that they embrace most things with good cheer, evidenced by the way the leader says 'welcome to our disaster' and then hugs Threepio's leg (reminded me of my dog, Dog, which wasn't a pleasant image), but I felt it was a bit of an oversimplification - especially since we see them being upset later on in the episode. Why worry about people dying, when two droids are missing?

That oversimplification was something I wasn't happy with. Star Wars has been attacked, in the past, for being borderline racist with the Gungans - sorry to go off on a tangent, but it's not racist if that is their actual accent. It would be racist to have a person become a caricature and have them personify their entire heritage and culture - but this was the first time I have been uncomfortable with portrayals in the galaxy far, far away. I get that it was only a snippet of the tribal culture of the Aleena, and that they're more than simple-minded beings, but it still felt iffy to me.

Once underground, though, I did like the fairy-tale aspect of it; the Ents and the fairies and the Lady of the Lake, even if it wasn't what I'd expected.

Overall, I'd give it a four. It was decent, but I felt underwhelmed. I'd take those four womprats and put them in a room with infinite type-writers, and give them an infinite amount of time, and see if they could write a better riddle._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:34 am

Message

DancelittleewokEUC Staff

Joined: 15 Sep 2010Posts: 1171Location: Kansas

Not that I'm in any position to offer this, but put Life on the show! He's been contributing to the Star Wars Report recently and of course, here! _________________Observation: Life would be cooler if everyone spoke like HK-47.

*Blushes* Thanks for the vote in confidence, DLE! But I doubt people would want to hear my thoughts on things!_________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

I've several accents, actually. I'm half English and half-Scottish, so I switch between the two quite often, and without realising. And my English accent varies between the local dialect, and my trained posh accent._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Thoughts on the latest episode: Succinctly put, I liked it. I have no idea how or why I liked it, but I did.

Starting off with the space battle, I was taken aback by it. Which was odd, since I don't think there was anything particularly stand-out about it. It was the traditional three on one fight. But the way it was done, with the classic focusing on the droids while all hell breaks loose around them made it more profound than it probably actually was. Maybe the graphics were particularly good this episode? I haven't compared last season's to this, but it seemed that way. Maybe it was having the camera closer to the action, and the ships, made it all the more detailed.

When it came to the main story, though, I felt it was a little rushed. I would have been happy with one, maybe two different planets, but it seemed to be putting in too much for such a short episode. That seems to be a recurring thing in TCW. In the beginning, I surmise, it was because they were still figuring out how to tell in depth stories in 22 minutes. Once they'd figured that out, that problem diminished, though here and there, I've often felt, they do relapse into that. Although, to be fair, that may just be because I am quite greedy, and want more Star Wars to fulfil my fix. Though, whatever. The novelty of planet hopping wore thin on the second (or third, if you include the previous episode) planet.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy each planet, though. Granted, the background did look similar to each planet, but they were presented in wholly different (yet they managed to keep each story within the same vein) ways. Not to mention, this was the first consistently funny episode in a long time. I think this may be because it wasn't the same kind of humour throughout. It wasn't all just slapstick, but observational and snarky wit. I do wonder (because my memory is terrible, and I've forgotten most of the ep already) if each type of comedy was centred around each planet. Meaning, slapstick was the main device on one planet, sarcasm on another, and observation on another.

The winding down scene, despite knowing that they survive, was surprisingly evocative. And I, too, thought we were going to see Hondo again, what with the Weequays, and the similar ship design. It's a shame we didn't see him again, but it's a big galaxy. It may have been weird to have too many recurring characters.

Beyond that, there were many things I liked: from seeing Adi Galia before her demise, again; to what I've dubbed as Swiss Army Artoo; to the droid fighting. Though I would point out one thing of interest. Where, exactly did the ladder on the fighter come from? It's there one minute, and gone the next! Just like on Dagobah, in Ep V. I tell you, Filoni says the fate of Ahsoka is the TCW's greatest secret. I say it's the magic ladder.

I did have a small problem with the ending, in that it seemed to wrap up too quickly for my liking.

Overall, I liked it, even if the homages weren't, and the type of episode wasn't, my cup of tea. I'm in a bit of a conundrum. Usually I'd give good but not great episodes a 7. I think this was a decent enough episode, even if not my thing, so it, too, would earn a seven - but they're different types of seven. I think I'll give this a 7.1. Just to be finicky. And have my womprats sit around, listening to Threepio tell his stories, so Wolffe doesn't have to._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.